610 research outputs found
The Tilt of the Fundamental Plane of Elliptical Galaxies: I. Dynamical and Structural Effects
In this paper we explore several structural and dynamical effects on the
projected velocity dispersion as possible causes of the fundamental plane (FP)
tilt of elliptical galaxies. Specifically, we determine the size of the
systematic trend along the FP in the orbital radial anisotropy, in the dark
matter (DM) content and distribution relative to the bright matter, and in the
shape of the light profile that would be needed to produce the tilt, under the
assumption of a constant stellar mass to light ratio. Spherical, non rotating,
two--components models are constructed, where the light profiles resemble the
law. For the investigated models anisotropy cannot play a major role
in causing the tilt, while a systematic increase in the DM content and/or
concentration may formally produce it. Also a suitable variation of the shape
of the light profile can produce the desired effect, and there may be some
observational hints supporting this possibility. However, fine tuning is always
required in order to produce the tilt, while preserving the {\it tightness} of
the galaxies distribution about the FP.Comment: 12 pages MNRAS-TeX (mn.tex v1.5 incl.), 6 figures (.ps included)
uuencoded, gzip'ed tar file, accepted by MNRA
The origin of the spurious iron spread in the globular cluster NGC 3201
NGC 3201 is a globular cluster suspected to have an intrinsic spread in the
iron content. We re-analysed a sample of 21 cluster stars observed with
UVES-FLAMES at the Very Large Telescope and for which Simmerer et al. found a
0.4 dex wide [Fe/H] distribution with a metal-poor tail. We confirmed that when
spectroscopic gravities are adopted, the derived [Fe/H] distribution spans ~0.4
dex. On the other hand, when photometric gravities are used, the metallicity
distribution from Fe I lines remains large, while that derived from Fe II lines
is narrow and compatible with no iron spread. We demonstrate that the
metal-poor component claimed by Simmerer et al. is composed by asymptotic giant
branch stars that could be affected by non local thermodynamical equilibrium
effects driven by iron overionization. This leads to a decrease of the Fe I
abundance, while leaving the Fe II abundance unaltered. A similar finding has
been already found in asymptotic giant branch stars of the globular clusters M5
and 47 Tucanae. We conclude that NGC 3201 is a normal cluster, with no evidence
of intrinsic iron spread.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJ, 7 pages, 4 figure
No evidence of chemical anomalies in the bimodal turnoff cluster NGC 1806 in the LMC
We have studied the chemical composition of NGC 1806, a massive,
intermediate-age globular cluster that shows a double main sequence turnoff. We
analyzed a sample of high-resolution spectra (secured with FLAMES at the Very
Large Telescope) for 8 giant stars, members of the cluster, finding an average
iron content of [Fe/H]=--0.60 +- 0.01 dex and no evidence of intrinsic
star-to-star variations in the abundances of light elements (Na, O, Mg, Al).
Also, the (m_(F814W); m_(F336W)-m_(F814W)) color-magnitude diagram obtained by
combining optical and near-UV Hubble Space Telescope photometry exhibits a
narrow red giant branch, thus ruling out intrinsic variations of C and N
abundances in the cluster. These findings demonstrate that NGC 1806 does not
harbor chemically distinct sub-populations, at variance with what was found in
old globular clusters. In turn, this indicates that the double main sequence
turnoff phenomenon cannot be explained in the context of the self-enrichment
processes usually invoked to explain the chemical anomalies observed in old
globulars. Other solutions (i.e., stellar rotation, merging between clusters or
collisions with giant molecular clouds) should be envisaged to explain this
class of globulars.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJ Letters; 15 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
Another brick in understanding chemical and kinematical properties of BSSs: NGC 6752
We used high-resolution spectra acquired with the multifiber facility FLAMES
at the Very Large Telescope of the European Southern Observatory to investigate
the chemical and kinematical properties of a sample of 22 Blue Straggler Stars
(BSSs) and 26 red giant branch stars in the nearby globular cluster NGC 6752.
We measured radial and rotational velocities and Fe, O and C abundances.
According to radial velocities, metallicity and proper motions we identified 18
BSSs as likely cluster members. We found that all the BSSs rotate slowly (less
than 40 km/s), similar to the findings in 47 Tucanae, NGC 6397 and M30. The Fe
abundance analysis reveals the presence of 3 BSSs affected by radiative
levitation (showing [Fe/H] significantly higher than that measured in "normal"
cluster stars), confirming that element transport mechanisms occur in the
photosphere of BSSs hotter than 8000 K. Finally, BSS C and O abundances are
consistent with those measured in dwarf stars. No C and O depletion ascribable
to mass transfer processes has been found on the atmospheres of the studied
BSSs (at odds with previous results for 47 Tucanae and M30), suggesting the
collisional origin for BSSs in NGC 6752 or that the CO-depletion is a transient
phenomenon.Comment: ApJ accepte
The optical counterpart to the X-ray transient IGR J18245-2452 in the globular cluster M28
We report on the identification of the optical counterpart to the recently
detected INTEGRAL transient IGR J18245-2452 in the Galactic globular cluster
M28. From the analysis of a multi epoch HST dataset we have identified a
strongly variable star positionally coincident with the radio and Chandra X-ray
sources associated to the INTEGRAL transient. The star has been detected during
both a quiescent and an outburst state. In the former case it appears as a
faint, unperturbed main sequence star, while in the latter state it is about
two magnitudes brighter and slightly bluer than main sequence stars. We also
detected Halpha excess during the outburst state, suggestive of active
accretion processes by the neutron star.Comment: Accepted for publication by ApJ; 15 pages, 4 figures, 1 tabl
The central Blue Straggler population in four outer-halo globular clusters
Using HST/WFPC2 data, we have performed a comparative study of the Blue
Straggler Star (BSS) populations in the central regions of the globular
clusters AM 1, Eridanus, Palomar 3, and Palomar 4. Located at distances RGC >
50 kpc from the Galactic Centre, these are (together with Palomar 14 and NGC
2419) the most distant clusters in the Halo. We determine their
colour-magnitude diagrams and centres of gravity. The four clusters turn out to
have similar ages (10.5-11 Gyr), significantly smaller than those of the
inner-Halo globulars, and similar metallicities. By exploiting wide field
ground based data, we build the most extended radial density profiles from
resolved star counts ever published for these systems. These are well
reproduced by isotropic King models of relatively low concentration. BSSs
appear to be significantly more centrally segregated than red giants in all
globular clusters, in agreement with the estimated core and half-mass
relaxation times which are smaller than the cluster ages. Assuming that this is
a signature of mass segregation, we conclude that AM 1 and Eridanus are
slightly dynamically more evolved than Pal 3 and Pal 4.Comment: Accepted for publication in ApJ, references update
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